Masaru Kato
Kato Masaru is the secondary protagonist in Phase 1 and primary protagonist in Phase 2. Frequently, Gantz addresses him as "Katō-cha", after the Japanese comedian, Katōcha. One translation of this is Kato-cha. He is an old friend of Kei Kurono, and strives to be like the Kurono he once knew. After his grades fell and he was sent to a less-than-respectable school he took up a guardian position for those weaker than himself. While he appears to be a pacifist, he has shown himself to have violent tendencies from time to time (likely the result of repressed anger toward his Aunt). An example of this is where he beats a man to an unnecessary degree in a bathroom stall; while it should be noted that this man planned to jump and rape him, Kato had left him in extremely poor condition. He is summoned, along with Kurono, by Gantz after they are hit by a subway train - a consequence of helping a drunken hobo off of the subway tracks. Kato and his little brother live with their aunt, but continued abuse toward his little brother and a stressed family situation cause him to obtain an apartment for the two of them. Kato is something of a natural leader thanks to his imposing height and gentle yet powerful personality; during early missions he has a visible effect over the others, most noticeably Kurono Kei, Kei Kishimoto and Hojo Masanobu. During his third mission, the Buddha Temple mission, the final boss kills him. He, along with Kishimoto, Hojo, Sadayo, Sei and other Gantz replacements, die in this mission, leaving only Kurono alive. Six months later, he is revived by the 'Old Man. At the end of chapter 237, in the preview for Phase 2, Kato states that he will revive Kurono from his death, no matter how long it takes. On his first mission since his revival, he and the rest of the team end up in Osaka instead of Tokyo and meet up with the Osaka Gantz team. Kato continues to act as leader, although the team had earlier decided on making Reika leader. In chapter 247 Kato is abandoned by his Tokyo teammates after Sakata Kenzo states that their main goal for this mission should be to stay alive and that Kato should forget about Kurono as well as the innocent civilians being killed. After the falling out Kato begins to doubt himself, but becomes convinced once again after he nearly lets a family be killed by not acting. He then meets Yamasaki Anzu, a female member of the Osaka team and learns more about the Osaka team and the rare 100-point alien. After rescuing Yamasaki and three other unwitting Gantz participants, Kato vows to kill the "100-pointer" and revive his best friend, Kurono. In recent chapters Yamasaki makes Kato promise that he and his little brother will move in with her and her son. In turn, she promises to make sure he does not die. Kato is successful in killing the 100 point alien, and uses the points to revive Kei Kurono. Personality and Fighting Styles Kato is known by the entire Gantz team as the understanding and gentle one, using force only when necessary. Throughout the series he is constantly looking for a second way to ending the game rather than just killing the targeted aliens, though this cannot be avoided and the aliens are either killed by him or the other players. Kato has shown incredible strength even without the use of his suit. He is quite skilled with all of the equipment, with the Y-Gun being his weapon of choice most the time. Although he is usually hesitant in battle he will end up being persuaded to use lethal force upon seeing others in danger. Current Events After defeating the 100 point alien and reviving Kurono, he shows great concern after Nishi tells them the "End of the World" in 1 week's time, he is seen at the meetings regarding that issue. In chapter 285, Kato encounters the original Kishimoto at a train station and tries to pick her up (ask her out),to her amusement we are left wondering if she accepted or not. Survivng the Italian mission, Gantz sets Kato and the rest of the hunters free. In chapter 303, Kato is seen in his classroom clearly worried about the Katastrophe. Kato later runs into Nishi in front of Shinjuku station whist waiting for Ayumu. Kato asks Nishi why he is smiling at a time like this, Nishi replies that everything is about to be turned upside down. Kato tells him that he is not normal, which Nishi retorts that Kato couldn't care less if everyone around them died at that exact moment. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of mecha falling from the sky. Kato later saves children from a robot that is attacking them, using the Y-gun to wrap it up and sent it away. Category:Male Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Revived Characters Category:Gantz Players Characters Category:Characters from Tokyo, Japan